There’s a pressing need for big drugmakers to save money, and Bristol-Myers Squibb is no exception. What with all those investigations into channel stuffing and the failure of the board to know what its former ceo was doing, legal fees are exorbitant. Then there’s the kitty for paying off deserving generic rivals. Oh, yes, all those ads can add up, too.

Underwriting all these activities can be a strain if the pipeline is a bit thin, so the best thing is to tighten the belt. One way is to buy fewer supplies. Bean counters call this managing procurement. So Bristol-Myers adopted a program to involve business units in hopes that only the most necessary items will be purchased to support their work.

The drugmaker pulled this off swimmingly. To meet the executive payroll, its scientists gathered round their labs and decided they would all use the same type of beaker, those odd-shaped instruments used to measure liquids. Industry Week says the procurement effort was a ’success story.’

No word on how much was saved. But the ingenuity and sacrifice involved should be applauded. Maybe now Bristol-Myers will have enough money to attract a qualified candidate to become its next ceo.

[tags]Bristol-Myers Squibb[/tags]